Tennessee Williams’s Plastic Theatre
Tennessee Williams’s Plastic Theatre

Summary/Abstract: This article addresses the main features of Tennessee Williams’ expressionistic drama The Glass Menagerie as an example of plastic theatre, a concept introduced by the author himself in his preface to his most experimental play. The most obvious elements of plastic theatre employed by Williams in The Glass Menagerie were: the use of a screen on which themes, titles and pictures were shown at critical moments; the use of a recurring musical motive as leitmotiv; the use of cinematic techniques; the use of lighting that appears unreal to allow for the memory-based format of the play; and the use of an unrealistic set and set pieces in a symbolic way. These techniques focus not on realism but on the truth of the human emotions.

• Details
• Contents